The Sun, the Earth and the Weather is the theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day. It highlights the role of the Sun in delivering the energy that powers all life on Earth, and drives the weather, ocean currents and the hydrological cycle.

Developing countries, least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to impact of climate extremes, including drought which could lead to water crisis or severe food shortage.

The start of 2019 has been marked by high impact weather in many parts of the world, including record heat, wildfires and rainfall in South America and Australasia, dangerous and extreme cold in North America, and heavy snowfall in the Alps and Himalayas.

WMO hosted a meeting of UN Oceans, as part of a week of ocean related events to focus attention on ocean science, observations and safety. UN-Oceans is the UN inter-agency coordination mechanism for ocean matters .

In a clear sign of continuing long-term climate change associated with record atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 have been confirmed as the four warmest years on record.

For the first time in its history, the World Meteorological Organization has addressed the UN Security Council on the risks to international peace and security posed by climate change and weather-related disasters.

The year 2019 has started where 2018 left off – with extreme weather causing disruption, damage and loss of life. The high impact of these events – some of which are consistent from what we expect as a result of climate change - underline why extreme weather, climate change and environmental risks dominated the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Perception Survey .